


Not on the Bench

by CrosbyOshieKaneToews



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2019-03-10 23:27:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13511976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrosbyOshieKaneToews/pseuds/CrosbyOshieKaneToews
Summary: Sebastian wasn't feeling great before the game started, and freaks Jeff out about halfway through the second period.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know this is a weird pairing, just roll with it.

Sebastian shouldn’t have played this game and he knew it. He woke up nauseous and with a slight fever but he didn’t want to be that kid that sat out for something stupid. He made it through the first period okay. Obviously wasn’t playing his best, and his teammates could tell, but he was determined to tough it out. Even if he wanted to puke in his stall in the locker room right now. 

“You okay Seb? You’re looking a little green.” Jeff asks. Jeff has the stall next to him. They requested this setup pretty early on and somehow the coaching staff agreed to it. And at that point, they hadn’t even come out yet.

“I’m okay. Don’t feel great. But okay.” Sebastian mutters under his breath. He was not okay.

The buzzer sounds to start the second period and Sebastian has to pull himself from his stall while resisting the urge to heave. He stumbles backward and Jeff catches him. 

“You sure you’re okay, babe?” Sebastian nods in response, afraid to open his mouth.

They make it onto the ice and Sebastian does a few laps around the ice, trying to shake the sick feeling. Unfortunately, it doesn’t get any better. But it also doesn’t get any worse. Luckily he isn’t part of the first shift. But he is part of the second. Coach calls for a line change and Sebastian flings himself over the bench. It’s one shift. He can do this. Noah passes him the puck and he skates up through the neutral zone. He passes the puck to Tuevo and…. He needs to get off the ice. Now. 

Sebastian cuts across the ice and jumps onto the bench to the confused look of the coaches. He barely sits down when his lunch decides to make a reappearance. Everyone around him jumps away as he pukes all over the front of his jersey and down into his lap. The referee stops the play at the commotion on the Canes bench. This was disgusting. He suddenly wanted to go home. Badly. Home meant his bed, and clothes that weren’t covered in vomit, and Jeff. 

He retches again into his lap and his teammates start to clear the bench. One of the trainers was talking in his ear about getting him off the ice and down the tunnel, but he was only half listening. The vomiting was making him dizzy, and he felt it would be better if it all ended up in one place. 

Jeff leans on the boards in front of him. “Sepe… You should’ve said something. We could’ve pulled you and let you sleep or something.” Sebastian mumbles in agreement. He should’ve said something. 

Most of the team is standing on the ice now. The trainer loops an arm under his armpit and starts to pull him up to walk him to the locker room. Sebastian looks down to assess the damage to his uniform. He’s going to need entirely new equipment before the next game. He thinks he’s somehow managed to vomit inside his shirt. 

He gets down the tunnel to the locker room and the team doctors take him into the trainer’s room where they immediately tell him to take everything he’s wearing off. He does his best not to get any puke in his hair, but his luck is minimal. The trainers throw his gear in a hazmat bag and tell him they’ll get him new stuff before his next practice. They poke at him for a few minutes, take his temperature (102.3, but that number is confusing being that 100 degrees is boiling and he’s pretty sure he’s not boiling), and tell him that he probably has a stomach virus. He groans and lays down on the table with his miniature trash can. 

“Jeff…,” Sebastian mutters. He’d finish the sentence, but he’s fairly sure it would come out in Finnish. 

“He’ll be in after the game to take you home. We want you to try to sleep until then. At least if you’re asleep we won’t have to mop any other part of the building for a while.” The trainer, who's name Sebastian currently can’t remember, turns off the light and starts to close the door. “And, Seb? Try to aim for a bucket next time.” 

Sebastian’s eyes start to droop almost immediately after the door closes. He’s so tired. The training table is so uncomfortable. But he’s exhausted. He lets himself drift to sleep. 

***

“Seb… Sebastian…. Hey, babe…. Wake up, we’re going to go home.” Sebastian blinks a few times into the dark room and sees Jeff standing above him. He feels like death. He knows there’s a trash can near him. He starts looking around frantically feeling himself about to puke again when Jeff shoves the trash can under his face. At least this time it’s contained and not all over his clothes. He hasn’t even showered yet.

“Do we need to bring a garbage bag in the car with us? I’ll help you shower when we get home.” Jeff grabs one of the red biohazard bags off the counter before Sebastian can answer him. Sebastian gets up off the table and leans heavily of Jeff as they walk out of the building and into the car. 

For Sebastian, the car ride home was torture. By the time they got to their apartment he was afraid to pull the bag away from his face and everything was starting to spin. Jeff got out of the car and walked around to his side, unbuckling him and helping him stand up. He must’ve realized how woozy Sebastian was because next thing he knew; Jeff was carrying him. He took him through the front doors to the complex and up the elevator. Sebastian tucked his head into the crook of Jeff’s neck until they got to their apartment door. Jeff kept one arm around Sebastian’s waist while unlocking and opening their apartment door with the other. 

All Sebastian wanted was a shower. And to lay down. Jeff didn’t trust him to shower on his own without passing out or puking again, so he stripped them both and they got into the big shower in the master suite. 

“Let me get the barf out of your hair and then you can go to bed, alright?” Jeff tells him as he’s soaping up Seb’s hair.

“Can we move the bathroom trashcan by my side of the bed?” 

“Was already planning on it. Tip your head back a little, I don’t want to get soap in your eyes.” Sebastian does as he’s told and Jeff rinses the soap out of his hair. 

They get out of the shower and Jeff hands Sebastian boxers and some shorts. Jeff tucks him into bed, places the trash can next to his bedside, and climbs into the other side of the bed. Sebastian whimpers quietly moves himself so that his head is on Jeff’s chest, and quickly falls asleep. Jeff runs his hands through Seb’s damp hair. He hopes he can make it through the night without getting sick again.


	2. Three AM

Jeff awoke to the sound of heaving, but it took too long for him to register what was happening. Sebastian wasn’t even awake. His head was still on Jeff’s chest, his eyes were closed and No! Oh god no no no! 

Jeff grabs Sebastian by the shoulders and tries to shake him awake, but it’s too little too late. Seb’s eyes bolt open and he pukes almost in Jeff’s lap. He just misses and ends up puking on the comforter instead. Jeff looks over at the alarm clock on the bedside table. Three in the morning. Wonderful. 

Sebastian feels the tears start almost immediately. “I-I’m so sorry! I d-didn’t mean to!” He chokes out. He realizes he’s probably ruined the sheets and the tears come harder. Jeff reaches over and uses a thumb to wipe the tears. 

“Let’s get you back in the shower and I’ll change the sheets. It’s not a big deal, babe. Really, it’s not.” Sebastian isn’t sure he believes Jeff completely, but he agrees to shower again. Jeff trusts him to shower on his own, but makes the decision to text one of the trainers and their coach that neither of them will be at practice in the morning. 

He strips the sheets and comforter and throws them both in the tub in the guest bathroom. He has a feeling there will be more sheets to wash by morning so there’s no point in putting them in now. The only problem now is the wet spot on the mattress. He’s not sure if it’s from Sebastian sweating through his fever or if it’s from the vomit. He’ll need to flip the mattress. 

He decides to move them to the oversized chair in the living room instead. It was Sebs favorite chair to nap in, easily fit both of them, and Jeff didn’t want to have to flip two mattresses in the morning. He covers the chair in towels, luckily they have a lot of them, and then puts a fitted sheet over it. Hopefully it stays. He piles a stack of blankets on the ottoman and then hears footsteps coming from down the hall.

“Jeff? There’s no sheets on the bed?” 

“Yeah, Sepe, you made the mattress all gross with your puke, so I figured we could hang out in your favorite chair for the rest of the night?” 

Sebastian walks over and sits in the oversized chair, immediately curling into a ball. This time, Jeff goes and grabs the kitchen trash can. It’s at least taller. Jeff squeezes his way into the chair with Sebastian, and covers them both in blankets. 

“I’d give you some medicine but I don’t think you’d keep it down.” 

“I don’t think I would either.” 

“I texted Doug and Coach. We aren’t going to practice in the morning. We’ll see what Doug says about ways to make you feel better.” 

“M’kay.” Sebastian mumbles, already curled up in Jeff’s lap and falling back asleep. “Jeff?”

“Yeah, babe?” But all Jeff gets in response is quiet snores.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and Comments appreciated! 
> 
> Also I’ve done zero editing and wrote this on my phone before class, so I make no promises.


	3. Sleep

After Sebastian's three am vomiting ordeal, Jeff was afraid to go to sleep. He sat in the big chair in the living room, cradling a sleepy and sweaty Sepe in his lap. Jeff was afraid that if he went to sleep, he'd get another rude awakening and once again wouldn't get Seb's head into the trash can in time. He didn't want to have to clean anything else off this early in the morning. Sebastian shifts in his lap and shivers. Jeff presses a palm to his forehead in an attempt to see how warm he is. He makes a mental note to get some Gatorade in his system in the morning. 

Sebastian shifts in his lap again and sniffs, mumbling "tulee taas sairaaksi..."

"What's that babe? I don't speak Finnish, remember?" Jeff shakes Sebastian slightly and he cracks his eyes open slightly, leans over the side of the chair to the trashcan and dry heaves for a few seconds. At least there's nothing left in his stomach to throw up. He curls back into Jeff's lap and goes almost immediately back to sleep. 

Jeff checks his phone again, hoping Doug has texted him back. It's almost five o'clock. It's possible that he could be awake. As soon as he looks away his phone lights up. 

***

-Jeff, have you gotten any liquids in him?

-No, he's either asleep or puking. I'll try when he wakes up next. 

-What's his temperature?

-No idea, but he still feels warm and is hella sweaty.

-I'm excusing you both from practice. Don't leave him alone. If Seb gets too lightheaded or woozy let me know. Don't want him getting dehydrated.

-I'll keep an eye on him. 

***

Jeff, still afraid of another potential bout of nausea, turns the brightness all the way down on his phone and starts scrolling through pictures. Most of them from the last six months are pictures of Seb either being adorable, sleeping, or goofing off, but one picture always sticks out. The team end of training camp party. The Hurricanes management had rented out a local bar for the night, and it's a picture of Jeff and Sebastian in one of the booths, Sebastian's head on Jeff's shoulder, Jeff propping him up as he slept. The clock above their heads read 1:30. The boy can literally fall asleep anywhere, and he hadn't even been drinking that night. Jeff remembers carrying Seb back to his apartment and laying him down in the guest bedroom. He also remembers his phone pinging and seeing the picture pop up in a text message from Jordan Staal captioned "???". Of course, he saved it. The next morning he woke up to Sebastian in his bed, not remembering when he came in. That was when he decided to ask to have his stall moved over next to Seb. Little did he know, they'd be a couple before the end of the month. 

Jeff wants to sleep. He really does. He feels like he just barely starts to doze off when Sebastian is back awake again, giving his shorts a small tug in an attempt to get his attention. "Jeff..." he whimpers. He looks at the seemingly small figure in his lap who's started to tear up again. Jeff pulls him in closer and starts rubbing his back in an attempt to soothe him. "Hurts... So bad..."

"I know. I need to get some Gatorade in you, alright?"

"It's not going to stay."

"You either try, or I get Doug over here to stick an IV in your arm. Which one is it?"

Sebastian looks up at him with pleading puppy eyes, but Jeff isn't going to give in this time. Finally, he mumbles out a weak "Okay." Jeff untangles himself from Sepe's limbs and walks into the kitchen. He mixes half a grape Gatorade with half water and brings it back to the chair. "But I don't like purple. I want orange." 

"You drank all the orange, babe. This is going to have to do." Sebastian takes a small sip and pauses for a second. He follows it up with a second small sip. And then his head goes back into the trashcan. Jeff realizes this isn't going to work and texts Doug again.

***

-He couldn't keep Gatorade down for more than about ten seconds. What now?

-Can you get him to the rink?

***

"Sepe, you think you can stand up?" Sebastian starts to sit up, gets his feet on the ground, and wavers. 

"No." He states, and Jeff helps him lay back down in the chair. 

***

-He can't even sit up all the way, so that's a solid no. 

-I'll be there in a few minutes. Probably needs a saline drip.

***

"Doug is going to come check on you. He'll be here in a little bit." Jeff didn't dare mention the likelihood of Seb having a needle stuck in his arm. He was terrified of needles and Jeff didn't need to add a panic attack into the mix. He went back into the bathroom for the thermometer and made an attempt at taking Sebastian's temperature. 100.1, which was still a fever, but it had lowered overnight. He walked over and unlocked their apartment door, and then settled back into the chair, Sebastian curling back into his lap and falling back asleep. He shoots Doug a text telling him not to knock, and to come in when he got there because Seb was asleep. They'd have an easier time getting the needle into his arm if he was still asleep. 

The door creaked open about twenty minutes later and Doug poked his head in. Jeff gave him the universal sign for "shh" and pointed at Sebastian asleep in his lap. Doug nodded and quietly made his way over. He stuck a command strip to the wall behind the chair, Doug literally thinks of everything, and hangs the bag of saline above Sebastian's head. Jeff moves to pin down Seb's free arm, just in case he wakes up, and Doug starts to slide the IV line into his other arm. The second the needle pricks, Seb is awake and flailing. Jeff practically straddles him, pinning down his entire body and Doug pins down the arm he's trying to get a needle into. 

Sebastian continues to try to flail around, tears streaking down his face. Jeff plants a light kiss on his forehead. "I'm afraid to see how you react the first time you actually get hurt." 

"Me too, geez kid," Doug mutters from where he's gotten the needle into Sebastian's arm and taped it down. "You don't get to pull this needle out until the bag's drained. Understand?" Sebastian nods into Jeff's chest, and coughs up what little of the purple Gatorade he was able to keep down onto Jeff's shirt. Doug grabs a dirty, yet cleaner than the one he's wearing, shirt off the floor and Jeff changes quickly. Doug seems concerned by how unphased Jeff is by being puked on, but Jeff's gotten used to it overnight.

The bag drains slowly, painfully slow, but eventually, it's emptied. Sebastian's gained some color back in his face and looks a little better after the fluids. Jeff begins to position himself to hold Seb down again because now the needle has to be removed from his hand, but Sepe stops him. "I'm okay. I'll tell you if I'm not, but I think I'm okay."

"You didn't tell me you weren't okay last night."

"I will this time, promise." Jeff watches Sebastian's face as Doug pulls the tape off the back of his hand. "Jeff..." He whimpers. 

"That's what I thought." Jeff pulls Sebastian closer in an attempt to calm him while the needle gets pulled back out. It only takes a split second, but Jeff can feel Sebastian relax once the needle is out. Doug packs his stuff back up, says goodbye to both boys, tells Jeff to keep him updated, and makes his way out. 

"Jeff... I'm not playing tomorrow night."

"No babe, no you aren't."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm obviously more interested in this than my actual school work, so enjoy another chapter. Comments and Kudos are still much appreciated!!!!!


	4. Better?

By the time Sebastian had woken up from the whole needle ordeal, his fever had broke. He was curled back into Jeff's lap, and Jeff had finally fallen asleep. He felt really guilty for keeping him up all night. Seb's stomach had kind of settled. He felt less queasy and actually a little hungry. And holy hell he had to piss. He slips himself out of Jeff's arms and clumsily makes his way to the bathroom down the hall, still not quite steady on his feet. After flushing, he decided he wants an actual bed to lay in. He unplugs his phone from where it was in the master suite and curls up on the bed in the guest bedroom. He has more notifications than he expected. And it's already four thirty in the afternoon. He had a text from Teuvo asking him to update him on how he was feeling. He types a quick "better, thanks" and hits send before moving on to Jordy's text. "Call me." 

***

-I'm not quite up for calling yet, what's up?

-Jeff said you're not playing tomorrow?

-I kept him up all night. 

-And Doug said you freak out at needles.

-Damnit, Doug.

-Get some rest, kid. And do us all a favor, ask for a bucket or something next time? Then maybe the entire team won't run away from you. 

-Okay.

****

Sebastian then pulls up the NHL app. He's wondering what people are saying about his little incident last night. The biggest speculation seems to be that he passed out on the bench. There's an interview with Coach. He's telling the media not to go on their bench until it gets cleaned up. How long did they leave it like that after taking him to the locker room? Further down the article, there's an image of the bench with a hole where he was sitting. The caption said, "Out of respect, teammates leave Sebastian Aho's place on the bench empty". The media was so oblivious. They're making it sound a lot worse than it is. Jordy probably wants him to do some sort of media. That's probably why he wants him to call him. Seb isn't up for media yet. He curls up under the blankets, suddenly cold. His phone buzzes again. Teuvo. 

***

-Define better. Jeff isn't answering me anymore.

-I think the fever broke. Jeff's asleep. 

-Do I need to wake him up?

-No, I kept him up all night. I'm okay right now. 

***

"Sepe? Where'd you go?" he hears Jeff meandering around the living room. 

"Guest bedroom." he tried to yell, but it came out as more of a strained whisper. 

"Why are you in here?"

"I wanted a bed. The sheets for our bed are still all gross." Sebastian feels Jeff's hand press to his forehead. 

"You've cooled down a lot." Jeff says, sitting on the edge of the bed and running his hand through Sepe's hair. Sebastian leans into Jeff, using his thigh as a pillow. "You remember the first night I did this?" Jeff asks. 

Sebastian remembers. He was in his first week of training camp. He was told he was living with Jeff for the time being. This used to be his room. They decided to go out and celebrate the first week being nearly over, and Seb had gotten a little too drunk. His teammates kept handing him drinks, and he kept willingly taking them. Jeff was sitting in a booth with him. He was leaning on Jeff heavily, eyes closed, trying to get the room to stop spinning. He ended up falling asleep in the booth and woke up in his bed. Screaming. He remembers being freaked out, not knowing where he was or how he got there, thinking he was still in Finland when he obviously wasn't. He couldn't get his bearings and that scared him even more. Jeff heard his shriek and had come running into his room, panicked. In an attempt to calm him down, they ended up in the same position they were currently in. Jeff sitting on the bed running his had through Sepe's hair, and Sepe's head in his lap. He remembers Jeff leaning down to kiss him as he was dozing back off. It was so gentle. That was the first night they shared a bed, Seb too freaked out to go back to sleep alone. The next day, Jeff moved Sebastian into his room "Just in case". They both knew it wasn't actually "Just in case". 

Sebastian mumbles a quiet "yeah", and just like that night, Jeff leans down to kiss him. 

"You're going to have to do media when you feel up to it. The universe thinks you passed out or something." Jeff tells him. Sebastian nods in agreement and tugs on Jeff's shirt. "Try to eat these first." Jeff hands him two plain crackers. Sebastian eats both slowly. "You think they're going to stay in your stomach?" Sebastian nods again. Jeff decides he'll believe it when he sees it, but for the moment he trusts him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this is a lot of dialogue but I tried to add a bit of backstory. Hope yall enjoy!
> 
> Comments and Kudos still appreciated! I read all of them, even if I don't respond.


	5. Stitches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge shout out to anonymousfan8 for giving me the idea for this chapter!

Sebastian returns to the ice two days later in full force. He enters the locker room to a bunch of the guys yelling "Sepe's back!" and gets a random hug from Jordy.

"Sepe better be back. He spent all day yesterday either whining that he was bored or refusing to drink the purple Gatorade in the fridge." Jeff says, giving Sebastian a poke in the ribs. 

"I don't like the purple Gatorade, I like orange."

"Yeah, Jeff, Sepe doesn't like purple Gatorade." Tuevo jokes from his stall. 

"Someone get the kid a damn orange Gatorade, please." Sighs Jordan. 

Sebastian suddenly has someone shove an orange Gatorade into his hands and he happily opens it. He knows he still has to talk to the media, but lucky for him it'll wait until after practice. He doesn't dislike talking to the media, and his English is fairly good, but it's still a little stressful not knowing what questions are going to end up coming his way or what questions he's going to have to try to skirt around answering. He hates it when the media asks him a question he doesn't want to answer and he has to find a way to talk around it. Jeff has wandered off to some other part of the locker room, and Seb stares at the lack of pads in his stall. It's ten minutes until they're supposed to hit the ice before Jeff comes back, arms full of new hockey gear, and plops it at Sebastian's feet. He pulls everything on as fast as he can, assuming they threw his puked on equipment in the garbage and heads for the ice. Jeff grabs his wrist as he stands up.

"Take it easy alright? I know you're trying to impress Coach and everything, but rumor has it he's planned a bag skate." Sebastian nods, he thinks he can handle it. 

They start by running lines. Seb got put with Jordy and Tuevo, his usual linemates. After that, they switch to playing three on three. Jordan passes to Tuevo, who loops around Sebastian and sails the puck up to him. Sebastian shoots and his shot gets stopped by Cam. Cam sends the puck to the Jeff-Victor-Elias line and they start up the ice in the other direction. Sebastian is in front of the three of them, playing defense while Jordan and Tuevo catch up. Victor passes to Jeff, who one times the puck right into Sebastion's visor. 

Sebastian hits the ground, flinging his gloves off. He just got new gloves. He can't bleed all over brand new gloves. He undoes his helmet and angrily slings that across the ice to be with his gloves, wherever they ended up. He looks down at the ice at the pool of blood that's dripped from his face. He brings a hand up to try to stop it, but there's no point. It's already on the ice. Sepe drops from his knees down to his stomach and kicks his legs back and forth slightly behind him. He will not cry. It doesn't hurt that bad. He will not cry. He can't be seen as a baby. He doesn't want to make Jeff feel guilty. He will not cry. 

Jeff is on top of him in an instant, getting to his knees on the ice right next to Sebastian's head. "Oh my god I'm so sorry I didn't see you and you weren't there and now you're on the ice bleeding and oh god I hit you in the face. Look at me, Sepe. How bad is it?" Sebastian turns his head slightly and sees Jeff cringe. "Doug! Doug, we need you on the ice now!" Jeff screams. Sebastian feels his breathing quicken and knows he's starting to panic. "Stay down babe, stay right where you're at." Jeff hands him a towel and presses it to the cut just under his eye. Sebastian can't tell who brought the towel to this end of the ice. 

"What the hell happened? Did Seabass get sick again? Why is he on the ice?" Doug comes storming out of the locker room. All of Sebastian's efforts in not crying fail and he can feel the tears start. He can feel his body shaking. Jeff quickly explains that he hit him in the face with a puck and Doug kneels down to Sebastian's level. "Hey, look at me, I need to see where you're bleeding from." Sebastian pulls his tear-and-blood-stained face out of the towel he's been hiding in and looks up at Doug, pauses for a few seconds, and hides his face back in the towel. Doug motions to Jeff that Sebastian is probably going to need stitches, and Jeff cringes. They both know how well that's going to end. "We have to take you off the ice. Can you skate on your own or do you need me to get one of the guys to carry you?"

"I can skate." 

"Okay. Do yourself a favor and keep your head down until we're out of sight of the cameras. If they media sees tears, all hell will break loose. Oshie cringes on the bench once when he was with St. Louis and people still make fun of him for it." Sebastian gives Doug a thumbs up and pulls himself off the ice, staying doubled over so that the cameras can't see his face. He has no clue what happened to his helmet and gloves. Jeff skates with him to the bench, gives him a tap on the butt, and leaves him with Doug who walks him back to the locker room where he takes the top half of his gear off and throws it on the floor. 

"Seb, you're going to need about three stitches just under your eye. After that, we'll put some ice on it, but we have to do the stitches." 

"Can't you just glue it?" 

"I used the last of the medical glue on Jaccob's hand this morning after he failed to sharpen his skates properly." Doug starts threading the needle to stitch Sebastian's face up, and Sebastian feels his heart rate pick up. His hands start to shake and his breathing starts getting erratic. He slides all the way back on the table, towel still pressed to his face, and curls up into a ball. He wants to breathe. He feels himself start to waver slightly and can't find a way to ground himself. Usually, Jeff grounds him. Jeff is on the ice and Sebastian feels like he's about to fall off a cliff. "Seb, are you okay?" Sebastian whimpers in response and feels the heat of the tears on his cheeks. 

"I don't want to do this." He half-sobs. 

"I can numb it for you so you won't feel it."

"I can't... I can't do... This..." Sebastian wavers "Can I lay down?" 

"I really need you sitting up for this."

"I'm dizzy. Can I lay down?" Doug starts to recognize that Sebastian is at the beginnings of a panic attack. 

"Lay down for a second, focus on breathing. I'm going to go get Jeff." 

Sebastian lays all the way down on his back, closing his eyes and trying to steady his breathing, but if anything, being in the room alone is freaking him out even more. He feels his hands getting shaky to add to everything else. 

Jeff is mid-drill when Doug comes back on the ice. Without Sebastian. He talks to Coach for a few seconds and then calls Jeff over. 

"Sebastian's having a panic attack, can you come sit with him long enough for me to put three stitches in his face?"

"Does he even want me?" Jeff asks, "I'm the one who caused this."

"Just, come on." So Jeff follows Doug back into the training room where Sebastian is laying on one of the tables, eyes closed, stiff as a board, tear streaks down his face, trying to breathe. 

"I have an idea." Jeff mutters. He puts a hand on Sebastian's shoulder, and Sebastian takes a swing at him. Luckily he misses. "Don't. Don't try to hit me, Sepe. I know you're freaked out. It's okay." Jeff starts to pull Sebastian into an upright position. Sebastian refuses to open his eyes. He pulls Sebastian close so that his chin rests on Jeff's shoulder, and Jeff wraps one arm around his back, pinning his arms down, and places the other hand at the back of Sebastian's head. "It'll be alright. You only need three." Doug goes to do the first stitch, and Sebastian tries his best to smack his hand away. "We don't hit people off the ice, remember. It's not nice to hit people off the ice." Jeff is cooing in Sebastian's ear like he's a toddler. Doug has one stitch done. Jeff tightens his grip on Sebastian, who's begun hyperventilating. "Breathe for me, babe. In... Out... Try to match your breathing to mine." Sebastian tries taking a slow breath, but it turns out shaky and uncertain. Doug has two of the stitches done. "One more Sepe. One more and you're done." Jeff can hear the team starting to file back into the locker room after practice. Doug starts the last stitch and Sebastian lets out a small shriek. 

"Everything alright in... Oh. Not a fan of stitches Seb?" Justin asks. "Damn, the kid's crying hard. You must've gotten him good." 

"He's terrified of needles. We've gotten two stitches into him" Jeff grunts and Sebastian flails "Almost done with the last one." Sebastian tries to flail again "Sepe, no. Stop that." 

"And, done." Doug states, pulling off his gloves. "Don't let his pull those out." Doug hands Jeff Sebastian's ice pack. 

"Media isn't coming into the locker room today. Maybe if you take him out there he'll calm down some." Justin suggests. 

Jeff drags a now slightly calmer, but still sobbing, Sebastian back into the locker room and hands him the ice pack. "Keep this on your face. Don't touch the stitches or Doug will have to come pull them out and stick another needle in your face to fix it." Sebastian whimpers, scoots further back into his stall, and starts unlacing his skates. His face feels pretty miserable, and his whole body hurts, but he starts to get his breathing back to normal. Slowly, his hands stop shaking. Jeff leans over from his stall and wipes away the tears that haven't stopped falling yet. "We're stuck here until those stop, you know. Although you're adorable when you're crying, we can't let the media see it." Sebastian nods, the locker room begins to clear out, and they wait patiently for Sebastian's tears to come to a halt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone else notice that whenever Sebastian does interviews and gets asked something he doesn't want to answer he tries to change the subject? Just me?
> 
> Also I thrive on Kudos and Comments so please do!


End file.
